This story is set in modern times, 2012 (when the book was first written) though it has an ancient Roman/Greek story line, so most places in the story have buildings and people related to that time. The people in this book move around and live in different places in America, Canada and Alaska. Perseus Jackson: Perseus (Or Percy) is 16, and is the son of a Greek god Poseidon, god of the seas, and has the ability to manipulate water. He is of Greek origin, and is dyslexic and has ADHD. He has been through many adventures, including those in his previous journeys in the series 'Percy Jackson and the lightning thief.'
Percy Jackson is the lead character in the story, and he gets most parts. He is important, as he and a roman boy his age named Jason Grace have their memories wiped, and are switched around, put in each other’s homes and told by a goddess Hera to bring both Romans and Greeks together to fight.
Frank Zhang: Frank is 15. He is an important character in the story. He is the son of the Roman god Mars, god of war, and the Greek god Poseidon, god of the seas. He is of Roman origin, though he is special because he has a mixed Greek/Roman past. Frank is also unique because he has a special ability, which he learns to use towards the end of the book. Frank was raised by his grandmother after his mother died in war, and was born a natural archer, though in the roman world, archery is considered a weak skill, and so Frank is shunned until he can prove his skill.
Hazel Levesque: Hazel is 13, and is the daughter of the Roman god Pluto, god of death and jewels. She is of Roman origin. She has a curse which gives her the ability to control precious jewels, and bring them to the surface. Hazel was born in the year 1932, and died in the year 1945, though she was brought back to life by her brother (related through their father) who has the ability to control the dead. She loves horses, which is also frowned upon by the Romans, and owns the fastest horse in the world. They fit well together, because the horse feeds on the gold that she can create.
Timeline of Events (Percy’s point of view)
Percy wakes up and notices that his memory is lost. He wanders aimlessly, trying to avoid the two sisters of Medusa who are out to kill him as revenge for him killing Medusa.
Medusa = A demon monster with snakes for hair.
Finds the Roman halfblood camp.
Halfblood = The child of a god and a human.
Re-realises his water abilities when his friend is caught by the two sisters of Medusa and drag him into a river.
Is given a prophecy to go save death from the giant polybites.
Polybites = A giant, and a son of the earth god Gaia
Meets Hazel and Frank and is put in a cabin with their legion.
Legion = A Roman unit of 3,000 to 6,000 men
Gets sent on quest to Alaska with Hazel and Frank. to kill Polybites
Defeats monsters on the way to Alaska.
Gets to Alaska.
Defeats giant polybites and releases death.
Returns home to save Roman camp from more monsters sent by Gaia to destroy them.
Meets old friends from original home Greek camp.
Finds out he has to kill Gaia.
~End of story~ (On to next book)
In the beginning, Percy is confused and has no idea what is going on. The weather shows a miserable feeling in the air, and the dark descriptions shows the confusion and how lost he is. Though the setting slowly brightens as he begins to realise that he had lost his memory, and he tries to find a way home. That’s when he finds the Roman camp. The story starts a little bit through, just a week after he’s woken up and has one short flash back in the middle of the first chapter. The most important moment in the story is when Percy defeats the giant polybites just on the Canadian side of the border between Alaska and Canada. The story is from multiple points of view. Each chapter is headed to show whos point of view the chapter will be from, so there is a mix. Sometimes the chapter beginnings and ends overlap to show a broader understanding of how a person feels at a certain moment.
Between the three characters, there is a lot of love and friendship. They are all friends, though Frank and Hazel obviously love each other, and eventually show it near the end of the story. There is no conflict, they always help each other, and they know their boundries when it comes to sensitive topics.
The book made me curious as to how they were going to solve their problems, as they face a lot along the way. One of the main issues it made me think about was death. The fact that death was captured meant that nobody ever died, and so whenever I’d take a break, I would wonder what the world would be like if nobody ever died. I also realised that 13 year olds can be of huge help to older people, as Hazel has to help the older two boys a lot in the story.
I really enjoyed this novel. It is exciting and breathtaking. At almost every chapter there was suspense, and the author has managed to keep the text interesting throughout. The book is a great example of a mythological story that uses facts, and helps thee reader to learn all sorts of things about ancient Greek and Roman history and legends while enjoying an eventful story. The most interesting parts of this book would have to be when any of the main characters uses their powers. The author is very descriptive, so the reader gets a clear idea of what the character is doing, and can imagine themselves in that scenario. The style of writing is set in past tense, and every chapter is based on a different person’s point of view. To show a wider view of the character's thoughts at a certain stage, the author will at some points over lap the start and end of chapters, which gives a good idea of the characters emotions, though that method limits the amount of people can have their feelings expressed clearly, and so not all characters are always completely understood. At times, I thought that the love between Hazel and Frank was a bit cheesy, but that’s what makes a good story. I would highly recommend this story to people of all ages, as it has comedy, but mature content.
Heroes of Olympus
The Son of Neptune
By Rick RiordanThis story is set in modern times, 2012 (when the book was first written) though it has an ancient Roman/Greek story line, so most places in the story have buildings and people related to that time. The people in this book move around and live in different places in America, Canada and Alaska.
Perseus Jackson: Perseus (Or Percy) is 16, and is the son of a Greek god Poseidon, god of the seas, and has the ability to manipulate water. He is of Greek origin, and is dyslexic and has ADHD. He has been through many adventures, including those in his previous journeys in the series 'Percy Jackson and the lightning thief.'
Percy Jackson is the lead character in the story, and he gets most parts. He is important, as he and a roman boy his age named Jason Grace have their memories wiped, and are switched around, put in each other’s homes and told by a goddess Hera to bring both Romans and Greeks together to fight.
Frank Zhang: Frank is 15. He is an important character in the story. He is the son of the Roman god Mars, god of war, and the Greek god Poseidon, god of the seas. He is of Roman origin, though he is special because he has a mixed Greek/Roman past. Frank is also unique because he has a special ability, which he learns to use towards the end of the book. Frank was raised by his grandmother after his mother died in war, and was born a natural archer, though in the roman world, archery is considered a weak skill, and so Frank is shunned until he can prove his skill.
Hazel Levesque: Hazel is 13, and is the daughter of the Roman god Pluto, god of death and jewels. She is of Roman origin. She has a curse which gives her the ability to control precious jewels, and bring them to the surface. Hazel was born in the year 1932, and died in the year 1945, though she was brought back to life by her brother (related through their father) who has the ability to control the dead. She loves horses, which is also frowned upon by the Romans, and owns the fastest horse in the world. They fit well together, because the horse feeds on the gold that she can create.
Timeline of Events (Percy’s point of view)
In the beginning, Percy is confused and has no idea what is going on. The weather shows a miserable feeling in the air, and the dark descriptions shows the confusion and how lost he is. Though the setting slowly brightens as he begins to realise that he had lost his memory, and he tries to find a way home. That’s when he finds the Roman camp. The story starts a little bit through, just a week after he’s woken up and has one short flash back in the middle of the first chapter.
The most important moment in the story is when Percy defeats the giant polybites just on the Canadian side of the border between Alaska and Canada.
The story is from multiple points of view. Each chapter is headed to show whos point of view the chapter will be from, so there is a mix. Sometimes the chapter beginnings and ends overlap to show a broader understanding of how a person feels at a certain moment.
Between the three characters, there is a lot of love and friendship. They are all friends, though Frank and Hazel obviously love each other, and eventually show it near the end of the story. There is no conflict, they always help each other, and they know their boundries when it comes to sensitive topics.
The book made me curious as to how they were going to solve their problems, as they face a lot along the way. One of the main issues it made me think about was death. The fact that death was captured meant that nobody ever died, and so whenever I’d take a break, I would wonder what the world would be like if nobody ever died. I also realised that 13 year olds can be of huge help to older people, as Hazel has to help the older two boys a lot in the story.
I really enjoyed this novel. It is exciting and breathtaking. At almost every chapter there was suspense, and the author has managed to keep the text interesting throughout. The book is a great example of a mythological story that uses facts, and helps thee reader to learn all sorts of things about ancient Greek and Roman history and legends while enjoying an eventful story. The most interesting parts of this book would have to be when any of the main characters uses their powers. The author is very descriptive, so the reader gets a clear idea of what the character is doing, and can imagine themselves in that scenario.
The style of writing is set in past tense, and every chapter is based on a different person’s point of view. To show a wider view of the character's thoughts at a certain stage, the author will at some points over lap the start and end of chapters, which gives a good idea of the characters emotions, though that method limits the amount of people can have their feelings expressed clearly, and so not all characters are always completely understood.
At times, I thought that the love between Hazel and Frank was a bit cheesy, but that’s what makes a good story. I would highly recommend this story to people of all ages, as it has comedy, but mature content.